PBC News & Comment: Do you believe Barack Obama or Ed Snowden?

by Peter B. Collins on June 10, 2013

Obama: "Nobody is listening to your phone calls"; Snowden: "Any analyst at any time can target anyone, anywhere"--"turnkey tyrranny"...Ed Snowden identified as leaker to Greenwald, we bring you his own words about why he risked so much to unveil secrets.

This podcast is devoted to the recent exposure of secret documents confirming massive sureveillance of phone records, the PRISM program to intercept internet communications, and the cyberwarfare memo.

We open with a description of Snowden, then hear highlights from Glenn Greenwald's video interview, taped in Hong Kong on Friday, June 6. You can see the full video and read Greenwald's account here.

Snowden explains that his CIA/Booz Allen Hamilton work gave him access to all US secrets, and he believes that some secrets cover abuse and lawbreaking. He says the "public needs to decide" what level of surveillance is appropriate, and speaks directly to people who say they "have nothing to hide". His greatest fear is that, despite the risks he has taken, nothing will change, leaving us with "turnkey tyranny".

Next, PBC replays Obama's remarks from Friday, June 6 in San Jose, where he made assertions about the leaked secret programs that are flatly untrue. Your humble host takes the president on point by point, calling out the spin and dessembling Obama used to defend surveillance efforts, and challenges as false choices his comment "you can't have 100% security or 100% privacy".